Cape Dory 33 stuffing box

[rghinson]

Boy do I love my boat, but man, I hate the stuffing box!! Does any 33 owner know of any special tool that was supplied with the boat at first purchase or any other suitable tool and where either may be obtained? I almost had a sinking over the weekend and am desperate to locate an appropriate tool.

Thanks,

Reid

[tmsc]

Spartan Marine sells spanner wrenches for them.

[Frank Vernet]

When in extremis, you can use a large pipe wrench opened wide. But the Spartan Marine spanner wrench is better.

[sharkbait]

Check with your local plumbing supply house. What works very well is an adjustable plumbers spud wrench.

[Tom Keevil]

Ther stuffing box on a CD33 is too cramped to use a spud wrench. Buy the Spartan wrenches.

[JWSutcliffe]

At the risk of offending any purists - do yourself a favor and just intall a dripless seal. It was the best invetsment i ever made on Oryx. A major pain to install, but so nice to have no need for further adjustments. The current PSS setup does not require burping - just launch and enjoy sailing.

[Jeff and Sarah]

I agree with the previous recommendations, buy the Spartan wrenches. They have great customer service if that helps to soften the blow of the price (about $50). If you value your time at all, the purchase is the cheapest way to complete the job. If the box hasn't been opened in a long time, the Spartan wrenches are the only tools that will loosen the parts when no level of heat, oil, or creativitiy would otherwise prevail.

[rghinson]

I am sold on the Spartan wrenches. Does anyone know the correct size? I am about 250 miles away from the boat.

Thanks,

Reid

[Paul D.]

Several people I trust have said the dripless boxes are not as reliable as the old school bronze ones and fail severely when they do. I have repacked the stuffing box on our 33 a half dozen times over ten years and never use a wrench. I use a large flathead screwdriver and hammer to loosen and tighten. It is not elegant but works and the shaft in the area is in good shape. The hardest bit is not handling the bronze fittings, it is removing and packing the packing material! Last two times I had trouble packing three full layers in but I got it down now. At first I swore the packing was oversized but actually I was cutting it to generously and it was bunching up.

-I crawl in the port locker (Derisivly named the hallway to the dungeon.) and sit behind the box
-Using the hammer and screwdriver, pound the thinner ring on the starboard side to back off
-Do the same on the port side to back off the main box
-I use a drywall screw and vice grips to screw into the old packing and remove one layer at a time
-Clean with a rag
-Cut three rings of new packing using a tube of the same diameter. I use the Edson steering pedestal grab rail to mark the packing for a perfect fit but I would check your tubing
-Using the screwdriver, carefully stuff in the rings one by one. After the second ring is in, I screw tight the bronze fitting to compress evenly
-Pack the last ring and ram it in there to get in at least an eight of an inch of space so the fitting to grab the threads
-Screw snug with the hammer and scredriver on the port side of the fitting
-Tighten lock ring on the port side to snug up to fitting
-After you're in the water you will need to go down and adjust for a little drip. Takes about 20 minutes if you have someone in the cockpit shifting for you. You can shift yourself down below though at the tranny. I now use my eight year old who is still willing to operate anything mechanical



This photo was before I thought of using the vice-grip-on-the-screw method. The bronze packing nut is slid forward up to the tranny on the left.

I use 1/4" PTFE packing with Syntef Lubricant, very messy, but the gore-tex packing may be even better . After talking to all my dock mates and others in the know, I will NOT be doing this job every two seasons but every four from now on. When you get ggod clean packing in there, it works really well for most users unless you tighten it too much or motor an awful lot.

My two cents. Good luck!

[Oswego John]

In the past, I have used a handy littlte tool to remove packing. It is called a gimlet. No, not the drinkable type gimlet.

Have a good one,
O J

[rghinson]

I am convinced that the Spartan wrenches are the way to go, but I do not know the right size to order. Does anyone know the right size?

Thanks,

Reid

[Jeff and Sarah]

I do not recall the correct size offhand, but I do remember the Spartan employee knowing the size I needed for my 33' when I called in the order. If nobody else on the board chimes in, try giving Spartan a call.

I think the mallet and screwdriver idea probably works well when the stuffing box is not seized, but it definately did not work for me when I was struggling to open one that had been neglected for a decade.

[rollo_cd26]

The stuffing box requires counter force on the opposing nuts to open, the wrenches are made for this and you won't gall things up using brute force and blunt tools. Spartan knows the size wrench you need very well and they are truely accomodating. I got mine with in a few days of ordering.

[rghinson]

I received my Spartanwrenches todayand they are a welcome addition to my boat. By the way, the shaft size is 1 inch, determined from looking at the owner's manual posted on this site. Very convenient!! Thanks all, and take care.

Reid